Runaway
by TsukiChanChan
Summary: She didn't think about leaving until she met him. It was a short encounter- and a weird one at that- but she knew what she had to do. Or maybe she always did, and she just needed that smidge of inspiration to find the motivation to venture beyond the Heartfilia walls.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note**

 **Just a random one-shot. Enjoy!**

* * *

Being in that house was miserable, with the scorching heat burning Lucy alive as she laid on the hardwood floors of the parlor. She stared up at the useless fan that simply moved the heat around instead of cooling the room. Lucy hated her fancy dresses more than ever now, with the excessive frills and bows and long tight sleeves amplifying the heat hundredfold. But what sense would it make to discard it? The effort would make her sweat more than she already was and exhausted at the end. She had no better outfit to wear, and if the maids or butler or whatever other staff saw her looking as carefree as she wished to be, no doubt they'd run their big, nosy bosoms back to Lucy's father to tell.

And then she'd be in serious trouble. So she was condemned to the dress... but she wasn't condemned to the indoors.

She lifted her head off the floor, noticing with a grimace that her newly curled hair had already frizzed and stuck to her neck. Propping herself on her elbows, she looked out the large bay windows that overlooked the estate's garden. It was probably as scorching out there than in here, but looking at the flowers seemed like a much better alternative to staring at the fan spin round and round until the cool night came.

It had only just turned noon, which meant that Lucy would have those stupid violin lessons in an hour with piano right after- a time she dreaded just because her teacher was an old prick who refused to let Lucy play any pieces that weren't classics from eons ago.

"What would your future husband, or worse, your father think if you played those horrible pieces those commoners are playing nowadays!" Ms. Collins would say, scrunching her button nose and squinting her almond eyes.

"You are a commoner, yourself." Lucy would respond, raising a brow and crossing her arms. And Ms. Collins would frown even harder and communicate her disapproval by lack of mercy when judging how Lucy played a piece. If Lucy made any mistake, she had to start over and do whatever tedious task her wretched teacher wished.

If she weren't such a brute, Ms. Collins might've been beautiful. She had smooth bronze skin and black hair that fell down in curls to her shoulders. But her dark eyes were always scrutinizing Lucy, and wrinkles had begun to form at the corners from her mouth from all that frowning.

Lucy was in no mood to deal with Ms. Collins in the intense heat- she was grumpy enough already. Sighing, she stood up, wiping her brow of sweat before quietly exiting the parlor. The hallway she entered was practically empty with only a few maids dusting the photos of the Heartfilia lineage- all photos of pudgy, stone faced men and their wifes. Her father was the only one whose picture signified wealth, for what he wore was more expensive than all his ancestors' belongings and salaries. Yes, Lucy's father was a brilliant man, but just as cruel.

She hurried away, wondering how those maids looked so content despite being almost as heavily dressed as she was. She reached the main staircase quickly, and she peered over the wooden banister onto the showy entrance below.

The large ivory doors were plain compared to everything else in the room, with flowery patterns and wildlife brought to life with a few splashes of color. The checkered tile was made of the best marble one could buy, so polished that the light of the twinkling chandelier above danced across it like little pixies. On the walls were portraits and glass cases representing all the thing the Heartfilia Konzern earned, so that guests would be reminded of their place as long as they stayed

Lucy's father was the gloating type, definitely, and all she could do was roll her eyes. She lifted up her dress a few inches and flew down the stairs. As soon as she reached the bottom stairs, she glanced back up the stairs. Her father had a habit of appearing whenever he felt she was going to do something that could damage his integrity as a business partner, even when Lucy was doing nothing wrong.

But he wasn't there, so Lucy opened the doors and stepped onto the front porch. Before her laid the garden that her mother loved so much, filled with the sweetest smelling roses and large fountains spouting water that sparkled in the afternoon sun. The heat increased, as was expected, but a cool breeze rippled through the garden, doing a more effective job at relieving her of heat than that blasted parlor fan did. Smiling, she ran down the porch stairs out onto the garden, to her favorite tree near the gates that forever trapped her in her home.

It was a willow tree, the only one around, and its leaves rocked back and forth in the wind making it look almost magical with a small pond encircled with bright azaleas by its side. She pushed away the leaves and entered the shade of the tree. It made her heart leap in joy, finally rid of the heat. She peeked back out at the Heartfilia Mansion, it's white brick blinding in the sun. Retreating back into her escape, she reached into a small hollow in the middle of the tree, long ago abandoned by the animals that used to reside there. Inside, a small journal lay, Lucy's favorite pen right next to it. She took both out, sitting herself in the soft grass, leaning against the tree.

She looked at the journal, its brown leather cover worn by age and use. It had been her mother's, proven by the name "Layla" written in the bottom corner of the front cover, although she never used it. Above her name, Lucy had written her name in the handwriting so much like her mother's in the dark blue ink of the pen she held in her hand. The only thing her father hadn't found and snatched away in a desperate, and futile, attempt to forget his late wife. How could he, with a daughter who looked exactly like her?

The journal wasn't anything special otherwise, to anyone else anyway. Inside of it, though, laid Lucy's innermost thoughts and wishes, an outlet when all she could do was hide and dismiss her emotions. She wished her mother had used it, to have something of hers in writing, to venture into the mind of the woman who had left Earthland all too soon. But everything in there was of Lucy's own mind, so she thought of it as some sort of portal. She imagined that somewhere among the stars, Lucy's mother had a copy of the journal for her own, reading Lucy's wishes and granting one of them every time she wished upon a star.

Turning to the next blank page, Lucy wrote down everything that came to mind, even if it seemed foolish or rude, noticing with displeasure that the amount of pages left were thinning faster than she would like. Stopping herself short, keen on preserving the journal's pages for as long as possible, she set down the pen and journal back in its hiding space before deciding to wander around the garden.

She passed by more ponds and small fields of many sorts of arrangements of flowers, from tulips and daisies to peonies and snapdragons, all different colors in a beautiful display of chaotic, yet beautiful nature. Heading past the flowers, she neared the orchard which laid in the back of the estate (a very long walk from where she was) full of citrus fruits and sweeter apples all scattered around like a loose forest. She reached the fence and trailed her fingers along it as she walked, vaguely wondering how long she'd been outside, until being disturbed by a shrill cry.

"IIIIIIGGGGNNEEEEEELL!"

Lucy jumped at the noise, backing away from the fence. Immediately after, a boy appeared in front of the fence, hands gripping the same pickets Lucy just let go of. Lucy screamed, but the boy seemed unaffected, for he just blinked at her before pointing at her.

"Hey! You!" He yelled, as if Lucy weren't just a few feet away from him. "Have you seen a dragon around here? About yay high and very fiery."

Lucy vigorously shook her head, backing up another step. What was she supposed to do? Go back and tell her father? He'd never let her out the house again! Besides, Lucy has never seen another kid before. She'd never imagine they'd be so… weird.

Looking disappointed, the boy sighed. "Oh." He perked up quickly, taking her appearance in. "It's too hot to have on that dress. You should take it off."

"I am not taking off my clothes in front of you!" Lucy shouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm just trying to help you out." He shrugged, feet still planted in the ground.

"How did you get here anyway?" Lucy asked, cautiously stepping closer to the fence. "Why are you here?"

"I walked." The boy stated before crossing his arms. "And I told you- I'm looking for my dragon."

"Dragons don't exist." Lucy said, frowning at the childish boy.

"Of course they do! I was raised by one!"

"Then where is he now?"

"If I knew, would I be looking for him?"

Letting out a huff, Lucy dropped the subject, allowing the boy in front of her to cool off. "What's your name?"

"Natsu." He responded, face eerily calm considering how riled up he was just a few seconds ago. "Nice place."

He said, nodding his head towards the mansion.

"Hardly." Lucy sighed, shaking her head. "It'd be nice to go on adventures like you are. And how did you walk here? No one lives around here for miles!"

"I'm pretty fast." He smugly said, leaning against the fence. "Probably the fastest around."

"Cockiness isn't a good look." Lucy frowned.

"It's probably true, though."

Rolling her eyes, Lucy took the silent moment to look at Natsu. His hair was an odd, bright shade of pink and his eyes dark, but just as alluring. He was strongly built, even though he couldn't be more than a few years older than Lucy. As he shifted against the fence, a bright red mark flashed on his shoulder.

"What's that?" She asked, pointing at the boy's shoulder.

Natsu twisted his head to see what she was talking about. "My guild mark, duh." He replied, before looking at Lucy with a weird expression. "You must not get out much."

"I don't." Lucy responded. "What guild?"

"You don't know?" Natsu asked, appalled. "It's Fairy Tail! The best guild around!"

"Oh." Lucy said, ignoring Natsu's disbelief. "What's it like? Being in a guild."

"Fun." Natsu replied. "You get to know a lot of people and they become your family. Even the really annoying ones."

A family. Lucy thought, thinking about how nice it must be.

"Natsu." She said.

He hummed in answer, eyes meeting hers.

"When… when are you going back to Fairy Tail?"

"Probably soon, seeing as Igneel isn't here." He answered, raising a brow. "Why?"

But Lucy was already running back towards the house. "Wait there!" She shouted over her shoulder, before continuing her run towards the main doors. It was tiring, with the heat, but she managed to reach the porch without breaking her stride.

She ran up the stairs after quietly closing the doors behind her, looking at the grandfather clock just as she hopped onto the first stair. _12:46_

That gave her nine minutes before she was supposed to be at her lessons. And if she was still in the house by then, she would get caught and punished. Sucking in a deep breath as she reached the top of the stairs, she quickly walked through the hallways, mentally tallying which hallways had maids dusting or sweeping.

By the time she reached her room, it was _12:50_. She closed her door behind her, looking around the obnoxiously pink room. She was fourteen, not six, but her father would never remodel. Her father wouldn't even spare her a second glance.

She made way to her closet, grabbing a large brown satchel bag and throwing it onto her bed. She filled it with everything she thought essential- her letters to her mother, pictures, and one dress, which took up most of the room. Lastly, she pulled a mason jar from under her bed, and stuffed it into her bag. It was full of Jewel from when her mother was alive. Her mother called it "Dream Money" and would occasionally give Lucy a few Jewel and told her to save it.

 _"One day, you'll be able to spend it on the thing you want most."_ She would say, throwing Lucy an adoring smile.

 _"But Mommy, Daddy can just buy it for me! I don't need this!"_ Lucy would respond, throwing a confused frown to her mother.

And her mother would just laugh and start talking about something else. To this day, Lucy could not tell whether her mother was serious about the "Dream Money" or if it was for another purpose she never got to tell Lucy, but the blonde was eternally grateful for it nonetheless.

She reached into the bottom drawer of her nightstand and pulled out three golden keys. They were covered in dust and haven't been used in years, but they still held their beautiful glow. She hugged them to her chest, before draping her satchel over her shoulder and heading out her room, gripping the keys in her right hand.

She reached the main doors with no problem by sneaking around the maids. She ran to the back of the estate as quick as she could, hoping no one would bother looking out the windows to try to find her. Natsu had stayed as she asked, and she rammed into the fence, gripping the pickets, panting.

"Woah!" Natsu exclaimed. "You're back!"

He looked at Lucy's satchel. "What's that?"

"I'm going with you." Lucy panted.

"What?"

"Take me to Fairy Tail."

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I finally wrote something. Slowly, I'm writing chapters for two of my others stories. Look out for those. Hope you enjoyed!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note**

 **Aaahhh... you see,** ** _Runaway_** **was supposed to be a one-shot, but I didn't mark it as complete and now I feel obligated to continue it, haha. I hope this is enjoyable!**

* * *

It didn't take long for the Heartfilia Staff to catch the two leaving. There were no trees or shrubs to hide in, so all Natsu and Lucy could do was run as fast as they could and hope for the best. They hopped over the grand fence encircling all of the Heartfilia grounds. While Natsu vaulted it over it easily, Lucy found it much more difficult to conquer than the picket that surrounded the mansion. The metal fence had small gaps between each picket, not large enough to fit her foot. She tried to ignore Natsu frantic but encouraging shouts but to no avail.

Finally, with a tense shout, Natsu shouted something useful.

"Lucy! Just grab on to the top rails and pull yourself up!"

And Lucy did, hopping up so she could reach the rail that lied about two feet from the top of the fence. She managed to pull herself up and readied herself to hop off the tall fence. Before she could think about it any longer, she let herself fall forward with a scream. Her dress got caught on the sharp finial top of the picket, pulling her back towards the fence. She rammed into the picket, just hard enough for her to wince.

"Are you okay?" Natsu frantically asked, looking behind her. "Shit, shit, shit, they're here!"

Lucy turned her head, and sure enough, a black car was nearing the fence.

"Pull me off." She muttered, before violently rocking away from the fence. "Pull me off!" She screamed, and Natsu grabbed her arm and began yanking her.

After a few tries, the fabric ripped and Lucy was yanked to the soft grass just as the car was around ten feet from the fence. It skidded to a stop, and security filed out the car.

"Lucy Heartfilia! Your father has ordered you to return to the Heartfilia Mansion immediately!"

But the two were already running again, Natsu whooping and hollering as he went.

"Wow!" Natsu exclaimed. "That was epic!"

Lucy didn't share the same sentiment, a frown etched on her face as they trudged through a small forest far from the Heartfilia grounds. "They're bound to find me at some point. We're not that far away, and my dad has connections- someone will find me and return me."

Natsu shrugged. "Well, until then, we can have fun! Besides, we're far enough. You can't even see this forest from your house."

"I guess." Lucy sighed. "You came through this forest on your way here?"

"I don't think so."

"You don't _think_ so?"

Natsu shook his head. "I just kind of ran and ended up here."

"How are you going to get back to Fairy Tail?"

Natsu's face fell. "I don't really want to go back there, anyway."

He said it with such finality that Lucy didn't press for any explanation and the two walked in silence for a few minutes.

"What's your dad like?" Natsu suddenly asks, then raises his hands defensively. "Not trying to be rude or anything- just asking."

Lucy shrugged it off. "Frugal. _Very_ frugal."

"He owns a gigantic mansion! How is that frugal?"

"The mansion's mostly for show now. He bought it because my mother loved it. She always wanted a house with a big garden. So he got it- but now it just shows competitors how successful we are... to intimidate them. Everything he buys is for the sake of the business or his appearance- nothing else."

" _Nothing,_ nothing?"

" _Nothing,_ nothing." Lucy nodded, and then she sighed. "So, if we're not going to Fairy Tail, where are we going?"

"I don't know," Natsu shrugged from in front of her, before turning to look at her. "We'll find a town or something to crash for a while."

A pained smile came to his face. "Lisanna always said that I should travel a bit more- take the world in."

A faraway look came to his eyes and Lucy fidgeted awkwardly in the silence, couldn't shake the feeling that she was staring straight through her soul even though she knew that he was so in his world he probably didn't see her. The moment ended quickly, for he shook his head and once again became the Natsu she had first met.

"Do you know any towns near your place?"

Lucy shook her head.

"Useless." Natsu muttered.

"Hey! I followed you because I thought you knew where we were going!" Lucy huffed, crossing her arms. "Wait, stop walking."

"Why?" Natsu asked. Lucy didn't answer and instead began rummaging in her bag.

 _Where is it? Where is it?!_

"Lucy?" Natsu asked, crouching next to her as she pulled everything out of her bag.

"No no no no!" Lucy repeatedly murmured to herself, before she simply just flipped her bag upside down. Everything else came tumbling out, but what she was looking for didn't.

"I left if." She said, letting out a small laugh. "I _left_ it."

"Left what?" Natsu asked.

"My mom's journal." She sniffled, tears already coming to her eyes. Determined not to look _too_ weak, she wiped the tears on her sleeve, but they kept coming. "I have to go back and get it."

" _Go back?!"_ Natsu asked incredulously. "You just left a few hours ago!"

"I know." Lucy said. "I know, but I really need it."

She began repacking her things, and stood up. "I'm going back to get it."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Natsu said, scrambling to his feet. "Um, I really don't think that's a good idea. This is coming from a guy that _never_ has good ideas. I recognize bad decisions when I see it."

He inhaled a breath, as if giving Lucy the chance to steel herself before he continued.

"This scarf," he reached to his neck, where a white scarf that resembled scaled rested comfortably," is the only thing I have left from my dad, and I would rather die than part with it. And if I were in your position, I would want to go back too."

"So you're saying I should leave?" Lucy said, arms crossed. She raised an eyebrow. What was he doing other than supporting her decision?

"No, hear me out." Natsu said, shaking his head. "But, as a friend I have to stop you from going. Because if you back, you'll get caught and you'll just be unhappy again. What I'm trying to say is, the journal might be important to you, but it's just an object. Sometimes, you have to detach yourself from traces of a lost one to realize that you'll always have them in your heart."

"You blessed you with such wisdom?"

"I heard it from a fortune teller lady." Natsu explained, before wincing as he realized that probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.

Lucyscoffed, and turned back to walk the way they came, and Natsu didn't move to stopher, because he knew he couldn't. He barely knew her anyway- what did it matter? So he watched her disappear as she became shrouded by the large bushes and didn't move until he could no longer hear her footsteps.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Short chapter, I know. But, already, Natsu and Lucy's paths have already diverged! Will they ever cross paths again!?**

 **Who knows :3. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed!**


End file.
